Facebook introduced their long-awaited video autoplay feature a few months ago, and apparently it’s been wreaking havoc with mobile data plans ever since. Autoplay is switched on by default, so when a video appears in your feed and you pause momentarily on it, the video will start to play.

Here’s the kicker: It’ll do this regardless of whether you’re on 3G or connected to wi-fi.

The fact is, if you’re downloading lots of video content over 3G, you’re going to very quickly hit the limit of your data plan. If you’re on a contract, you most likely won’t discover this until you get your next bill. Let me predict your next thought: how do I switch this autoplay feature off?

No matter how good you think your music collection is, it’ll never be Spotify good. They estimate that they have a collection of over 20 million songs…and growing every day. That’s a hell of a lot of tunes.

Which brings me to the next question any smart runner will ask: how can I listen to Spotify when I’m running?Continue reading

If you’re one of those people who struggles to establish a fitness routine, joining a class might get you on the right track. Whether you’re just getting started on your fitness journey, or you’re a gym veteran, joining a fitness class can bring you some major benefits.

Over the past few months I’ve experimented with a variety of classes, from circuit sessions to Tabata right up to the plyometric craziness of Insanity. Here are some of the biggest reasons to join a class and watch your fitness levels go through the roof:Continue reading

Here’s an annoying thing that Google Chrome does: if you type in a URL that contains a spelling mistake, it will actually hold on to that entry and present it as an autocomplete suggestion the next time you start typing in that address.

A frequent bugbear with OS X on my MacBook Pro is that the screen will dim and then sleep if I leave it unattended for any length of time. That’s a nuisance because I can be running FTP operations or SSH sessions that I need to keep active and OS X will just go to sleep in the middle of them.Continue reading

I’ve recently given in to temptation and bought myself a Google Nexus 7. Having come from a predominantly Apple/IOS background, I was bursting to try out an alternative mobile operating system. Especially one which seems to actively outperforming Apple’s product.

I won’t go into a feature for feature comparison right here. Suffice to say, when I wrote my guide to setting up an alarm clock on the Nexus, I suddenly realised I had no idea how to take a screenshot on the device!

If, like me, you’re just starting to get into Android through Google’s fantastic Nexus products, you’ll probably have spent some time looking for the alarm clock functionality. Trust me, it’s well hidden! I initially went looking through the Nexus settings, but had no luck. Guess what? Once you discover where to look, setting up multiple alarms on the Nexus is actually a doddle. Let me talk you through it! These instructions should hold steady on any Nexus device, though I’m using a Nexus 7 with Android 4.3.

Sorry Drupal, but it’s time we broke up. I’d like to say it’s not you, it’s me, but that would be lying. I’ve left you for the warm, comfortable, welcoming embrace of WordPress.

This blog has been running on Drupal since January 2007. I started it out on Drupal 5, and systematically upgraded through versions 6 and 7. As a content management system, I was intrigued by the possibility of having different content types on one site and theming them as I saw fit with a combination of Views and CSS.

Lisa turned to me and said “The Larne half-marathon is on the 8th June. You should go in for it.”

“Huh? The Larne half was in March.” Apparently not. The unexpected cold snap and snow that had virtually cut off parts of the North Coast meant that the race had been postponed. Excellent! I’d wanted to do this run since last year and now here was a second chance!

There are some folks who believe that January 1st is “just another day”. What’s the big deal? It’s the day after December 31st.

I don’t. I think New Year’s Day is kind of a day for reflection. Looking back on 2012, it’s not a year I can especially rave about. For every high point there’s been a disappointment or something underwhelming.